Saturday, October 30, 2010

Rally the troops

Today the boys experienced their first political rally. While we weren't able to make it to the Rally for Sanity in DC, much to Mr. Dog's disappointment, we did make the trek downtown for the Rally for Sanity's Seattle satellite rally. Well, the last 30 minutes of it at least. Hey, it's hard to get two small boys out of the house and downtown on public transportation! (and it doesn't help if you oversleep in the first place.)
Unfortunately, in contrast to the possibly cool but still sunny weather the DC area appeared to be having, Seattle was experiencing some of our trademark rain. It was cold and wet and grey and kind of depressing. Fall in Seattle, while the trees may turn beautiful colors, I turn blue from the chill. Anyhow, bundled up in our coats we listened to Jon Stewart's speech and clapped in all of the appropriate places. At least when the tiny dictators let me listen at all. First they complained that the walk to the bus stop from our house was too long. Then the walk from the bus stop to the rally was too long. Next I was told they were hungry and that it was too cold. When I tried to tune them out and listen, they decided to tug on the buttons on my coat. Finally, Big Dog looks at me and asks, "Did you really think we were going to have fun at this?"
And I guess the thought of it never entered my mind. This was something that Mr. Dog and I wanted to do, the kids were being dragged along, but it wasn't like it was hard labor or anything. It was a rally, and at one point in each of their lives they had an obsession with the Daily Show. It wasn't about them, but I thought it might be interesting. I guess I thought wrong. At least with our very late arrival, they weren't subjected to the cold and rain and grown up outing for long.

At least they did have a high point. Big Dog, now an able reader, spotted this sign. He thought it was the best thing ever. After pointing it out to me, he wanted to make sure I understood just how funny it was.
"Get it, mom? Boo-tea, like a butt! And it's a Halloween joke too. See! Boo, like a ghost. Add tea and it's Boo-tea, like a ghost butt!" followed by much giggling. Thank heavens for my 7-year-old humor coach.

In April of 2005, my husband and I packed up our two dogs and toddler and moved to Seattle from the San Francisco Bay area. Shortly after our move, I became pregnant with our second child. As exciting as this was, it definitely put a cramp in my ability to explore our new home town. I'm still working hard at adjusting to the new digs.
As a working mom to two small boys, I manage to keep pretty busy. Between business meetings, play dates and pediatrician appointments, there isn't much time left for personal pursuits. But that is a trade off I am willing to make. I'll find time for myself when the boys are old enough to borrow the car, right?
And as though that isn't enough, when we moved we bought our first house, a major fixer upper. Yeah, we wanted the "this Old House" experience, but little did I realize that it would lead to such great experiences, like the sudden loss of running water from a broken water main, or a leaky sewer pipe that kept the toilet off limits for days.
All I can say is that life sure is interesting!